Philanthropic Legacies

• Beneficiary Gift  
  You name the charity as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy but retain ownership and continue to pay the premiums. When you pass away, your estate receives a charitable donation tax receipt for the life insurance proceeds paid to the charity.
• Gifting a new life insurance policy to a charity  
  You apply for a new permanent life insurance policy. Once the policy is approved and in force, you transfer the policy’s ownership and beneficiary to the charity. You continue to pay the annual premiums and receive a tax receipt for that amount. When you pass away, the charity (as the beneficiary) receives the life insurance proceeds tax-free.
• Gifting an existing life insurance policy to a charity  
  You transfer the ownership and beneficiary of an existing in-force life insurance policy to the charity of your choice. You continue to pay the annual premiums and receive a tax receipt for that amount. When you pass away, the charity (as the beneficiary) receives the life insurance proceeds tax-free.

This option is available through certain charitable foundations and gives donors and their families control over how their charitable donations are made.

In Canada, there are more than 5,000 charitable foundations registered with Canada Revenue Agency. Many are structured as neutral channels or “bridges” for flowing funds to registered Canadian charities from qualified donors, thereby simplifying the planning and distribution of sizeable philanthropic gifts.

Some of these foundations offer Donor Advised Funds, which are charitable giving accounts that are typically established by individual donors or families. These donors or their designated successors get to specify which charities they want their funds to support.

With a Donor Advised Fund, your legacy can give gifts of income and/or capital. These gifts can have a short-term, transitional purpose (e.g., a specific one-time expenditure), or they can be structured as a perpetual endowment.